This means that all of the water will pass through the coffee bed and none will escape around it. This is a positive factor because it will inevitably lead to a richer and more consistent cup of coffee as all of the water comes into contact with the coffee bed.

Because water cannot escape around the coffee bed (like in other devices), you will notice that the type of coffee (process, origin, roast) will really make a big impact on drawdown times compared to "traditional" brewing devices. In traditional devices, when coffee would provide resistance, water often takes the path of least resistance, going around the bed rather than through it. This can make devices look "consistent" by giving you consistent brewing times between coffees, but often this is a sign of inconsistency as extraction and cup would lower at the same time. Different coffees will extract differently. Washed, dense coffees will drain slower in a zero bypass environment because they provide more resistance to the water passing through. Our recipes provide brewing ranges, but please note that some coffees are just denser, slower, or roasted in ways that will make them less soluble and slower draining. Adjust your grind size (or patience) to taste!

USABLE: 10 grams to 18 grams
BEST RANGE: 12 grams to 16 grams

While we are experimenting with smaller and larger ranges for this device, it is most suitable for single cup brews.

The MELODRIP dish will not slow down your pours. It is a reactive drip assist and will speed up as you pour faster, or slow down as you pour slower. If you have a scale that displays flow rate, please note that in our base recipes, the pouring flow rate is around 5 G/S. This is a medium flow rate, not too slow, not too fast. We try to keep our recipe portions simple, so for example, a 50G pour should be made within 10 seconds (this is precisely 5 Grams/Second).  

We display grind size advice in Comandante C40 Clicks (as it is our preferred hand grinder) but we also refer to grind size ranges like FINE, MEDIUM-FINE, MEDIUM, MEDIUM-COARSE, COARSE. We recommend you take our base recipe (Easy does it) and dial your grinder in based on our time guides and on your taste. Every grinder will produce a different profile and will interact differently with the paper filter.

The Melodrip dish is not optional, it is mandatory. The paper filter is very small and additional turbulence from bare kettle pouring will cause fines to migrate and clog the paper filter. All of our recipes use the Melodrip sitting atop the brewer, unless otherwise specified.

Any recipe from any percolation brewer should work, in theory, as long as the pour size is under 125G and the coffee weight is within our usable range.

Our recipes are designed around light (or even often very light) roast levels. If you are brewing more developed medium or dark roasts, please note that you should adjust parameters. In general the darker you go, we would recommend to decrease grind size gradually and lower water temperature - adjust to taste. We have not tested with dark roasts too much as of yet, and may prepare a guide section specifically for this later on. Just keep in mind that we designed and tested this device more around light roast coffee.

- There is no need to pre-wet the paper. It has ZERO paper taste and it is small. None of our recipes mention or require you to pre-wet the paper. Save your water and your time.
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- There is no need to WDT, stir, or mess around with the bed. You can do as you please, but none of our recipes call for this as they potentially can lead to more fines migrating and clogging the paper. 
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- There is no need to pre-heat the device. All of our recipes start with a room temp device and this is fine. The thick wall will act as an insulator, you really don't need to waste the water or your time. We also mentioned, you don't need to pre-wet your paper. So skip both of these and simplify your brewing, it'll taste great.

In other words - keep it simple. Control your results with grind size, ratio, water temperature or profile and pouring flow rate. Anything else will just introduce potential inconsistencies and problems. We know there are many tools and ideas out there and we know people like to interact and interfere - it can be fun. You can do what you want, it's your device, but we recommend to focus on the big 4  (grind, ratio, water, flow rate) to make real measurable, consistent, impact.

Our recipes below are a starting point. Any recipe from any percolation brewer should work, in theory, as long as the pour size is under 125G and the coffee weight is within our usable range as mentioned above. This brewer is fast, reactive, and very flexible. Adapt recipes from your favourite YouTubers, Brewing Champions, or local baristas - have fun and share your findings with us!